Courtship
by Fiera Sabre
Summary: My first Stargate fic ever! It's a mostly DV centric fic so far, but we'll see. DV, maybe CC later.It's a Scifi romance action adventure mystery etc... And with chap. six, apparently a bit of angst! Ch.10 up! Please R&R! ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

**Courtship**

**Chapter One:**

Vala sighed and flicked her hair over her shoulder as she leaned against the doorway to Daniel's office. She idly watched him as he pored over some ancient text or another and scribbled little indecipherable notes down in his notebook.

"Daniel I'm _bored_!" She proclaimed loudly enough that he jerked and his pen dragged halfway across his paper, making a neat, dark line.

"Vala!" He cried in frustration as he looked in dismay at the somewhat ruined piece of paper before him. "These are my notes on the ancient artifact from P5X-229!"

Vala walked calmly to his desk and leaned over the front edge to peer at his notebook, simultaneously giving him an ample view of her cleavage in the snug crimson shirt she was wearing. She pursed her lips skeptically and kept turning her head this way and that, her loose black hair swishing softly as she did so.

Daniel was unwillingly but quickly entranced by the thick, loose waves of hair before him, and promptly forgot about being mad at Vala for startling him. All he could think about was the light, enticing scent of jasmine that emanated from that soft, shiny, silky mass that he wanted to bury his hands in so badly…

"…And you call these notes! Why, I can hardly- no, I take that back- I simply can't read these 'notes' darling." Vala lifted her head up to grin at him and tossed her hair over her shoulder as she did so.

"Um, uh…" Daniel stuttered, as he realized he had no idea what she'd been talking about. "Well, uh, I can read them!" He managed to get out in his own defense. "And besides, I, uh, I quoted a lot from some Ancient texts that were found nearby, so some of it's in Ancient…" He trailed off as he remembered that he'd simply translated the Ancient texts to English, so she'd still be able to read them. Daniel frowned slightly and leaned back in his chair. "So other than discussing my handwriting-"

"Or lack of it." Vala interjected eagerly, then shut her mouth at Daniel's look.

"What are you here for?" He finished, then watched her with some impatience, yes, but mostly apprehension as a slow smile spread across her face. "Uh-uh. No, Vala."

She pouted momentarily, then flounced around the edge of his desk to sit on his lap. Vala wriggled on his lap for a moment to get comfortable then wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him lightly. She softened her eyes and managed to stick her lower lip out an outrageous distance without looking ridiculous. "But, Daniel, you didn't even know what I was going to say…Then you just say 'No' without thought for my feelings on the matter, and…" her full, pale lips had started to tremble, and her eyes were getting brighter by the second.

"Vala, you know I don't fall for your acts, just come on, please?" Daniel was vaguely aware of the fact that his hands had somehow found her waist and were gently resting there.

Vala took a deep shuddering breath and stood abruptly, taking hesitant steps towards the door. Her emotion may have been faked at first, but now it was genuine. "Fine. If that's the way you want it, so be it. I-I just thought that maybe _you_ of all people would-but no. No, I was wrong." She turned to face him just before she reached the doorway, and he was startled into guilt when he saw several tears trickling down her ivory cheeks.

Daniel immediately sprang from his chair and strode over to Vala, encircling her in his arms. "Shh…" He murmured soothingly as he rubbed her back. She slipped her arms around him and cried into his shoulder for a few minutes. Daniel couldn't help but bury his face in her hair and breathe in its sweet scent as he held her. Eventually- Daniel didn't know how long they had stood there- she pulled away and looked up at him with a watery smile. "Thank you Daniel, and- I'm sorry. I guess I'm just having something of a hard time lately."

"It's alright Vala," He gave her a soft smile. "Is there anything else I can do for you?" She lifted her hand up and traced his jawline lightly. "Just…" Vala stood on tiptoe and pulled his head down slightly so she could kiss him. "This."

A/N: This is set somewhere in or after season 10. Yes, I know it's short. I'm not sure if I got the characters down ok, so R&R, please? P.S. Let me know if I should continue this! DV Tentative / established.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Stargate related characters; they belong to their own companies, studios, etc… I am not trying to steal anything, so please don't sue me. I'm just an obsessed fan who likes to write. ;-p


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two:**

Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell was headed to Jackson's office to make sure the archaeologist wasn't skipping lunch, as it wouldn't be the first time. He rounded the door frame and was abruptly shocked by the sight before him; as well as slightly amused.

Daniel's arms were snugged tight around Vala's waist, and her hand was resting lightly on his jaw. Their lips were nearly touching when he came in, though they- or rather Daniel- sprang back as Cam stared.

"Well, well, well…What have we here? I come to see if our resident archaeologist is hungry, only to find that he's about ready to devour something altogether different from food." Cam drawled as he waited for the two to compose themselves.

Daniel flushed a deep red, silently cursing his oh so expressive face at this particular moment. "Mitchell, did you need something?"

Most seriousness was gone from Vala's face now as she pulled herself to Daniel's side. She managed to capture his face with her hand and turn it towards her. "Daniel," She murmured playfully, a smile tugging at her lips. "Why do we even try to hide it?" His soft mouth formed an 'o' of protest that was quickly smothered by her mouth pressing against his. He turned his attention- and his body –fully towards her and slid one hand up to the back of her neck, entwining his fingers in her hair as he deepened the kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck to support herself on knees that had gone all wobbly, although she'd never admit it to anyone.

Cameron watched in amusement for a moment then left Daniel's office, quietly closing the door behind him. He chuckled as he strode down the hall to the mess. Daniel and Vala- Who'd a thunk it?

Daniel eventually regained his senses and pulled away from Vala. They were both panting heavily from a lack of oxygen, and stared at eachother for a long moment. Daniel licked his lips rather nervously and tasted Vala on them; he enjoyed that taste. He then mentally smacked himself in the head for thinking that. "Vala, I should maybe go eat something now, then I have work to do." Work had been his onetime Vala cure, since it would distract his attention for a sufficient amount of time for Vala to get bored and leave. Now, however…

"You're not going to shake me that easily Daniel. Come on, let's have lunch, then go have some fun…off base maybe?" Her eyebrows rose on the last phrase slightly suggestively. "I think your artifact from P5-whatsit can wait for an afternoon." Without hesitation she linked her arm in his and pulled him out of his office towards the mess hall.

He grouched about it all the way to the mess. "It's an important Ancient artifact from P5X-229! I need to have a full report written up by Friday for General Landry, and I need more time to study it."

Vala stopped abruptly and took Daniel by the shoulders. "Do you want me to kiss you again?" She queried, her voice challenging him.

"Yes! Er, well, I mean no, er, maybe, yes, but then…" He stammered helplessly as she stared at him with those shiny silver eyes.

She started down the hall again with Daniel in tow once more. "What you need Daniel, is more time to relax so you can focus on your work later." She smiled brightly at him, and he started to think that this wasn't such a bad idea after all.

As Vala and Daniel entered the mess, his spirits started to sink. Mitchell was there, along with Sam and Teal'c, and judging by the way they glanced over then hastily looked back at their food, Mitchell had told them. A grin was tugging at Sam's lips, Teal'c was staring intently at his food, and Mitchell was watching them with an amused expression hovering over his face.

Daniel bent down and whispered in Vala's ear. "Do we really have to have lunch now? I'm never going to hear the end of this."

Vala shivered pleasantly at the feel of his warm breath caressing her skin, then turned her mind back to the subject at hand. "Did you have something else in mind, darling? Something that doesn't involve food, necessarily, but maybe some of that marvelous chocolate syrup and-"

"Lunch is fine!" Said Daniel hurriedly as he ushered her to the food line and grabbed a tray. "Lunch is fine." He repeated to himself more quietly. With that announcement, Daniel had resigned himself to not so subtle stares throughout lunch, and the knowledge that news of their kiss would have reached almost every corner of the SGC by noon tomorrow. He ate in silence as Vala chatted away about this and that and the mall, credit cards, and other various wonders of Earth. He managed to turn his thoughts back to his work. Now, that artifact seemed to refer to another Ancient text he'd found on another planet in the system, they both indicated that they were a guide of some kind, but the meaning and possible connection of the two texts still eluded him. He was startled out of his reverie by a fork waving just inches from his face.

"Daniel, I was trying to tell you that I've made a reservation for us at this wonderful restaurant—I don't remember the name—and that I need some appropriate clothes to wear to it." She leaned back in her chair, looking satisfied that _that_ had caught his attention.

Daniel decided on a split second impulse-not that he was prone to those- that he'd give as good as he got, so he merely leaned back in his chair and calmly asked, "Is it a three or four star restaurant?"

She looked surprised, but quickly collected herself. "Four star of course. I'm still not sure what the fashion for this kind of establishment is though, and since you're such an expert on cultures and such, I figured you'd know just what to wear. Who better to bring on a shopping trip?" Vala crossed her arms in triumph, thinking that he would surely make a fuss at this. Instead, he simply grinned right back at her and said, "Who better."

A/N: I'm so sorry if I still have the characters wrong. I'm trying my hardest, honest! Please R&R, anything helps.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Stargate related characters; they belong to their own companies, studios, etc… I am not trying to steal anything, so please don't sue me. I'm just an obsessed fan who likes to write. ;-p


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter three:**

Four hours later, Daniel and Vala stood in an elevator and temporarily laid down their heavy burden of shopping bags. The relief was short lived, however, as the doors slid open and they had to grab the bags and hurry out. It seemed to take forever just to drag the bags to Vala's room, and Daniel found that his shoulders were rather tense from having to carry the bags for such a long time. And he'd thought that being a part of SG-1 was hard… If this was what women went through every time they shopped for new clothes, he had a new-found respect for them.

Vala was methodically working her way through the bags, putting things in piles like: Nightwear, underwear, negligees, shirts, pants, skirts, dresses, etc… Finally, everything was sorted out and all the price tags had been removed. She was just wondering how this was all going to fit in her chest of drawers when she realized that Daniel was still standing in her doorway with a rather stunned and bemused expression on his handsome face. He opened his mouth to say something then shut it just as promptly, rethinking his question.

"Vala, I'm almost afraid to ask, but…How much is this going to cost me?" He held his breath as Vala rifled through the pile of receipts and added up the totals in her head. She was very good at that. When Vala looked down as a rosy blush tinted her cheeks, his stomach lurched. Whether at the thought of the amount of money, or how pretty she was just then he wasn't sure.

Vala bit her lip and steeled herself as she looked up at Daniel. This was going to be the best joke ever, and she didn't want to laugh. She'd ordered in the bulk of her purchases two weeks earlier, and Sam had agreed to pay for them. Daniel had really only spent a few hundred dollars today, but she wasn't about to let her chance for fun slip away. "D-Daniel, I'm really sorry…" She put a slight quaver in her voice, as though she knew he'd be mad. "I spent-"She took a deep breath, going through the motions of trying to calm herself. "I spent $9,478 today." She bit her lip harder to keep from laughing at the horrified expression on his face, and ducked her head as she rocked back onto her heels.

"Nine thousand…" Daniel was in shock. He'd never spent that much on anything but artifacts before, then Vala takes his credit card and spends over nine thousand dollars on _clothes_? Without even realizing it, he closed the door behind himself and managed to sit on the edge of the bed before his knees gave out. There came a slightly choked up voice from behind him. "Daniel…?" He barely recognized it as Vala's, since he was still reeling in shock.

Vala was glad Daniel's back was to her, as her shoulders were shaking with suppressed laughter. "Daniel, I'm _so _sorry…!" She managed to choke out without bursting into peals of laughter. She hugged herself in much the same way he always did when upset and ran out of the room, making sure to close the door quickly but quietly. She waited for an elevator car to come, and much to her surprise one arrived soon after she pressed the button that summoned it. It normally seemed to take ages for one to arrive. She pressed a button—she wasn't sure what floor she was going to—and the doors closed, allowing her to let out the laughs she'd been holding in.

Daniel shifted his position on the bed and looked around for the receipts, as he felt like he needed tangible proof that she'd really spent that much. He found the pile of receipts loosely scattered on the floor opposite his side of the bed. Wait; _This_ side of _Vala's_ bed, he mentally corrected himself. He gathered them up and leafed through them, only to find that the sum of the totals was only about four hundred dollars. He muttered some choice swear words and tossed the papers back on their—_HER—_bed, and stalked out the door before realizing that he had no idea where she'd gone.

"Damn," He muttered under his breath trying to think of where she might've gone. He decided to wait in the relative safety of his office and maybe he'd get some work done on that tablet while he was at it.

Later that night, Vala had changed into one of the negligees she'd picked up earlier, and with only a small amount of hesitation decided to push her luck and wait for Daniel in his bedroom; in his bed, of course. However, knowing Daniel, he probably wouldn't be in until past midnight, so she settled in and soon fell fast asleep.

As Vala had thought, the next time Daniel looked at his watch it was well past one o'clock in the morning, and he stifled a yawn as he carefully covered the tablet in a soft cloth. He shuffled off to his room, only to find Vala curled up in his bed, her ebony tresses splayed over the pillow and her fingertips hanging off the edge of the bed. She looked so peaceful, and he was tired, so he didn't even bother to wake her up. He simply changed into a pair of pajama pants and slipped into bed next to her. She mumbled something as he shifted, then she turned over and slipped one arm over his waist and pulled herself close to him as she slept. He almost protested at this, then decided that it felt nice anyways, and they weren't really doing anything, so it would be alright. He drifted off that night with a gentle smile on his face.

Vala woke the next morning to find herself atop a warm, firm pillow which she quickly found was Daniel, still asleep. She lightly traced his muscled chest with her fingertips, wondering why he hadn't kicked her out of bed last night…

As Daniel drifted towards consciousness, he became gradually aware of a light, warm weight on his chest and a slight tickling sensation there. He was trying to find whatever was sitting on him when his hand came in contact with another, and a flood of memories came rushing back from the night before. His blue eyes snapped open and his head jerked upwards to look at her.

"Vala! What are you doing here?" _Stupid question!_ He mentally kicked himself again.

She traced his jawline slowly, enticingly, as she smiled slowly and shifted her position slightly in such a way that one of her legs ended up between his. "Well darling, we fell asleep together, apparently. But appearances can be deceiving, don't you think?"

Her smile turned into a grin and she started slowly trailing lazy kisses across his chest. He didn't seem to mind, so she nipped a bit too as she worked her way up his neck, and she'd just started on his jaw when he seemed to regain his senses and pushed her away lightly.

"Vala."

"Yes?"

"Why did you tell me I spent over nine thousand dollars on your clothes last night?"

"Oh, that. I was just being silly. You had no idea how much those clothes might've cost, and I just couldn't resist having a bit of fun." Her expression was sultry in the half light of his room as she leaned forward. "We could have some fun together this morning, you know." She whispered huskily in his ear.

Daniel entertained the notion for a brief moment then abandoned it hastily. He tried to push her off gently, but to no avail. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled herself up to sit half on his lap at the same time he sat up. Daniel hung his head and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Vala, what time is it?" He looked back up at her now somehow innocent and seductive expression.

Vala shifted around a bit, wriggling on his lap. "Oh, I don't know… maybe…five thirty?" She grinned. "That's plenty of time for you and me to…" She raised an eyebrow and leaned closer, pressing her barely clothed chest to his bare one. Her lips just brushed his as she whispered, "play."

He distantly wondered how the situation had progressed from waking up to this in a matter of minutes. It was truly amazing how she could wrap him around her little finger at a moments notice. What was also amazing was how good her body felt against his, and how tempting and sweet her lips were; he remembered how they had tasted from yesterday's kiss.

He weighed his options; On one hand, he had beautiful, tempting Vala. On the other hand, he had an artifact to finish translating, a report to write up, slides to prepare for a mission briefing, and an awful lot of other work he couldn't even think of right now.

Hmm. Okay, that was an easy choice, if not for consequences. If he stayed with Vala for the morning, he would be late to start work, and probably wouldn't finish anything on time, and General Landry would possibly be upset with him. Alright, work it was. He sighed and gently lifted Vala up enough to scooch her off his lap and stood.

" I have a lot of work to do today, Vala, and I need and early start." Without coffee, his brain hadn't been working up to speed, but it caught up a bit now.

"Not that I'd stay and…er…'play' with you…um. I have to go now."

He started towards the bathroom with a clean set of BDUs, the doubled back for his glasses in time to catch Vala flinging herself back dramatically on the bed. One eyebrow quirked and the corner of his mouth twitched in amusement. He stifled a smile and headed off to take his shower.

A/N: Third chapter!! Yay! I think I'm starting to get the hang of this stuff. Anyways, please review!!! They help keep me going. Push the button. You just _know_ you want to. –does Force persuade- _send me a review!! _

Ahem. Well, I've no idea where this is going, so I don't know how long it will be. I get the feeling it may be a few chapters longer at least. :D

--Fee

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate, sadly enough. If I did, do you think I'd be sitting here moping about the fact that I don't??


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter four:**

Daniel worked the day away, and managed to finish his work on the tablet from P5X-229 by eleven 'o clock, then finished writing his report for Landry around two, not even realizing he'd skipped lunch. Vala had popped in earlier and said something he didn't remember, to which he'd vaguely nodded and made a noise of agreement in response.

The next time he looked at his watch, it was six thirty and he was starting to get hungry. The thought of dinner brought up the memory of Vala mentioning that she'd made reservations at a restaurant for dinner, but not when. Then came the memory of Vala asking him-no, it had seemed more like confirming-something with him earlier. Dinner? Uh-oh, Vala was going to be mad if he missed this, assuming that she'd made the reservations for tonight. He saved the work on his computer and jogged down the hall to the elevator. When one finally arrived he jumped in and hit the number for the floor with Vala's quarters. As soon as the doors opened wide enough to let him slip through he did, and sprinted down the corridor to Vala's door.

Daniel paused a moment as he stood before the door. Why was he so worried about missing dinner with _Vala_? It didn't quite make sense. He shrugged it off and knocked on her door, only to find himself hoping again that he wasn't late.

Vala had just finished slipping on a fluttery black and red evening gown that had a low V-neck and a matching purse that she'd also bought when she heard a knock on her door. _Daniel?_ She thought hopefully, then pushed the thought away. Daniel hadn't really been paying attention when she'd told him about dinner earlier. He probably wouldn't even remember her stopping by that afternoon. She slipped a pair of beaded black earrings in and padded over to the door. She hadn't yet bothered to put her shoes on, but quickly turned back and slipped her feet into the small, strappy heels, after thinking of Daniel. She then proceeded to grab her purse and make sure her loosely curled hair was still in good form and opened the door.

The door opened quite abruptly, and Daniel's mouth made a bid for the floor just as quickly. Vala was wearing the most gorgeous dress that seemed to hug her curves in just _that_ way, and a V-neck that was low, but not overtly so, for Vala. The dress was just above knee length, and showed off her long legs nicely. Her delicate feet were gently encased in small but tall heels that showed off her crimson toenails. He became gradually aware that he was checking her out, and managed to close his mouth and look her in the eye.

"Vala, uh…Time did you, dinner—well, I just thought that—and, um, maybe you'd… er…" Vala was looking more confused by the second.

"Daniel…"

"Erm, yes?"

"You forgot about dinner, didn't you?"

"Yeah." He shoved his hands deep into his pockets and looked at the floor. She'd probably been looking forward to this for some time now, and he'd gone and forgotten and they were probably too late to make it to the restaurant on time.

"…can still make it on time, if you hurry." Vala got the feeling that Daniel hadn't been listening the whole time she'd been talking. In fact, she had the distinct impression that he was berating himself, and she was pretty sure she knew why.

"Dan-"

"_Unscheduled off-world activation. Repeat, unscheduled off-world activation."_

Walter's voice came blaring over the intercom, accompanied by the warning horn and flashing DEFCON lights.

"I'll just go see what that is." Daniel said quickly before jogging back down the hall to the lift. He didn't look back at Vala, and missed her indignant expression and pose, with her hands on her hips.

Vala slammed the door behind her as she stomped back into the room, her good mood fouled. She stalked over to her wardrobe then turned on one tiny heel and lost her balance, toppling to the floor. Cursing, she angrily ripped off the offensive shoes and threw them across the room, but it didn't make her any happier. Not that it ever would. She clambered to her feet again and pulled the dress off over her head, then grabbed her BDUs and slipped them on. She searched around the room for her combat boots but couldn't find them, which only served to increase her ire. Suddenly, a thought struck her.

_What if this is just another run of the mill 'unscheduled off-world activation'? Maybe there's still time to get to the restaurant!_

Ceasing her search for the boots, she picked up the heels and inspected them for damage. They didn't seem much worse for the wear, even after she'd pulled them off as fast as she could and hurled them against the wall. Her bad mood lifted as she quickly changed into the dress again and, again, slipped the shoes on. She adjusted her hair in the mirror and made sure she looked perfect, when a knock sounded on her door once more.

Thinking it was Daniel, she swung the door open with a bright smile on her face, only to see some odd, insect-like alien standing in the door with a rather intimidating gun that was pointed straight at her.

Daniel had just finished loading a fresh clip of rounds into his P-90 when more of the aliens rounded the corner. He quickly fired several rounds into each one, felling them quickly. He checked both directions to ensure that the way was clear for the moment, then hurried down the hall to the nearest lift. It had happened so quickly, this particular invasion. They hadn't closed the iris, since the inhabitants of the world that dialed in were friendly. They'd all been waiting for some transmission, but none had come. Then an object rolled through the Stargate and down the ramp. Daniel had recognized it as a bomb after a moment, and the blast doors closed just in time to save the people in the control room. However, the blast had affected the computers; and the iris controls, along with the dialing programs, were no longer operable. Everyone had retreated and the base was put in lockdown mode, incase a Foothold situation arose. Because he'd been unarmed, Daniel had proceeded to the nearest armory and grabbed a vest with the usual arsenal, a P-90, and a zat. Since then, he'd been clearing the corridors and rooms, and had just finished locking down a level. He was going to join up with SG-3 on the personnel quarters level. Then a thought struck him.

_Vala was in her quarters last I saw her. _

A tight knot of fear formed in his gut. She hadn't been carrying a gun, and she certainly hadn't been dressed for combat. He hoped she was alright.

A/N: So, this is a very random chapter, if you hadn't already noticed. I thought about having Cam open Vala's door, but then I thought, 'You know, that would just be boring…How about…An alien!! Yess!!' and I finished the chapter. So, thanks for reading my incredibly random chapter. Please review? –Sad puppy dog eyes—

--Fee

Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate, yaddah, yaddah, yaddah… If I did, Daniel would have a lot of topless scenes…mmm… :-p


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter five:**

Daniel met up with SG-3 as planned, and volunteered to take the section of the level that contained Vala's quarters. His legs itched to run, run to Vala to reassure himself that she was safe, but he couldn't. He had to search and clear every room in his section, closing them down as he went. His breath came faster, shallower, as he approached the corridor near Vala's room.

Vala stayed very still as she watched the enormous bug. It had to stand at least a foot and a half taller than her, and looked something like a yellow brown…oh, what had Daniel called them? Ant! A yellow-brown ant. Well, an ant certainly couldn't operate a gun very well, now could it? She glanced at the appendage holding the gun, and realized that, while they looked like ants for the most part, they had at least one very human-esqe pair of hands. Creepy. Hm, the ant didn't act like it had noticed her. That was odd, but, do you see seven and a half foot ants every day? No. So she decided to take a small step back, to see if it would do anything. It didn't, not at first, but then it seemed to notice her, and it focused its faceted eyes on her menacingly. Vala swallowed. That hadn't been a good move. She'd just wasted her only chance at escape by getting it's attention with a move that did nothing to remedy her situation.

Daniel rounded the corner to Vala's room after what had seemed like an eternity, only to have a cold spike of fear rush through him when he saw one of the aliens standing in her doorway. The thing hadn't noticed him, and he silently raised his P-90 and leveled it, then paused.

The level had been empty of staff for the most part, except for Vala, and the creature probably hadn't killed anyone yet. Also, Dr. Lam might want to have a live specimen to take samples from, or whatever it was she did. And, despite the fact that these—beings—had just tried to take the SGC, he wanted to know more about them, maybe even learn how to communicate with them. Scientific reasons aside, if they learned how to communicate with it, they could possibly gather valuable intel as to where they'd come from and why.

He lowered his P-90 and quietly slipped his zat out of it's holster, then aimed, and fired. The familiar blue bolts of energy shot out and encircled the alien's body, but not with the desired effect. The creature swayed on it's feet slightly, but didn't fall. Daniel hesitated again; he didn't want to shoot it twice, because there was a good chance that it would die. Without warning, the alien collapsed, falling on it's back and rocking slightly on it's rounded carapace before lying still. He looked up and a flood of relief washed over him as he saw Vala standing near the doorway looking somewhat surprised and relieved. Daniel was just starting to grin at her when an awful sound met his ears.

A gunshot.

Pain ripped through Vala's side, and she heard someone scream, numbly realizing that it was her. Her legs gave way and she toppled to the floor in seeming slow motion. As she fell, she saw Daniel running towards her, yelling her name. There was another gunshot, but Vala didn't know if it was for her or not, since she couldn't feel anything now. Her world was turning blurry, then dark. The dark seemed pleasant enough, all warm and velvety soft, just welcoming her into it's folds. She was so tired, all she wanted to do was sleep, make the pain go away…Daniel helped make the pain go away, usually. Daniel…Even that seemed a distant memory and she wasn't sure if she actually knew a Daniel, or if it was just another lie… but if it was a distant memory, what was the point in holding onto it? Vala let go.

This wasn't happening, this couldn't be happening! It was Vala, _his_ Vala, and she couldn't get shot like that. Not when she was wearing that dress, anyways. All these thoughts raced through Daniel's head as he ran towards the crumpling Vala. He pointed the P-90 at the alien that had shot her and pulled off a couple rounds before reaching Vala's door. Blood seeped freely from the blast on her side, and her skin was looking paler by the second. He had enough presence of mind to quickly call in a medical emergency to Vala's room, before turning back to her.

"Vala, Vala darling, you can't leave now, can you hear me? You can't just leave me here without you!"

Daniel cradled her head in his lap and kept two fingers on her pulse point, hoping desperately that her weak, fluttering heartbeat wouldn't give out.

"I can't live without you now, Vala. Don't leave me, don't!"

Tears ran unchecked down Daniel's face, but he didn't notice. He had to keep talking, had to talk her through this. If he stopped talking, she might think he wasn't there and she'd leave him. A very small part of his mind knew these weren't rational thoughts, that she was unconscious and it didn't matter if he kept talking or not right now, but it was all he could cling to, so he did.

"Vala, I only fought with you because I built a wall around myself, and I never bothered to make a gate. Then you came along and started bombarding my wall with all your teasing and flirting and general obnoxiousness, and I fought so hard to keep my wall from falling once I found out that behind all the flirting there was a kind, genuine person behind it all. A loyal person, that never, ever gives up, and is so resourceful that it astounds me still. You blew my walls down, and after that, all I had to protect myself was me. Please stay, Vala. I've realized now that behind all the fighting, I might actually-"

He was cut off as the medical team finally arrived and loaded Vala onto a stretcher and rushed her to the infirmary. He explained what he could to the senior medical officer present.

"I zatted the alien currently lying in the doorway, and Vala had been standing in front of it when I shot it from behind. The alien fell to the floor, and I had just started to walk over there when it regained consciousness and shot Vala. I shot it with my P-90 as I ran over, and I called for the emergency med team. After that, I stayed with Vala, and you know the rest."

The medical officer responded with nods and mhmms at the appropriate moments as Dr. Jackson gave his description of events leading up to the injury. She also noted that he was badly upset and recommended that he accompany Vala to the infirmary. He didn't protest, and silently walked after the stretcher as it was wheeled out. She handed her paperwork on Vala to a nurse and strode off to the next medical emergency that needed her attention.

Daniel sat by Vala's bed in the infirmary, wishing she would wake up and tell him she was alright. She'd gotten out of surgery about three hours ago, and Daniel had refused to budge from her side since then, and not even the stubborn Dr. Lam could make him move. He watched the heartbeat monitor beep steadily, but occasionally it would pause for a little longer than usual, or stutter a bit. He had to wait for her next heartbeat to come for a bit longer than was normal, and the sick knot of fear that had formed in his gut lurched, only calming slightly when the soft 'beep' came. One of SG-11 had been visiting a friend in the infirmary earlier and informed him of what had happened after he'd left the fight. The base had been cleared not long after Vala was shot, and the SG teams were busy repairing the damage done by the bomb in the gateroom.

Daniel's whole life suddenly seemed to revolve around one event. Before Vala was shot, and after Vala was shot. Or more simply, Before and after Vala. Before Vala, his life had become almost tedious. They'd go on a mission, they'd have trouble, and they'd get out of said trouble, and occasionally save the world and/or galaxy in the process. After Vala was…comparable to a roller coaster ride. You knew that there was at least some amount of danger involved, but the excitement and adventure drew you to it. There were twists and turns, and loop-the-loops, and after all the breathtaking excitement? You ended up back at square one. That was Vala.

Daniel picked up Vala's hand and gently stroked her knuckles, praying to the forces of the universe that she would be alright.

A/N: Phew! I wrote the whole chapter in one day! I'm pretty sure that's a record or something for me. This turned into a sort of angsty chapter, and I'm not very good at angst, so please tell me if I should avoid it in future chapters. I wasn't exactly sure how to close this chapter, but I was getting tired and thought that it might be appropriate, so that's what it is. Thanks to everyone for reading this and giving reviews! I love reviews, so keep 'em coming! Please? Anyways, I was ecstatic after seeing that I'd had over one thousand hits on my fic already, so again, thanks!

--Fee

Disclaimer: Do I even need to bother with this? I'm pretty sure the world knows I don't own Stargate. If you guys didn't know that, I'd be tempted to call you stupid.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter six:**

Daniel had gone to bed at Dr. Lam's insistence, but he couldn't sleep as the sound of the gunshot played over and over in his head. It was his fault she'd been shot. If he hadn't simply zatted the alien, it wouldn't have regained consciousness and shot Vala.

His fault, his fault, _his fault…_

Daniel shot awake, his heart pounding wildly in his chest as a cold sweat beaded his skin. His ears were ringing—no, that was the medical emergency alarm—Vala! He raced out of his room, his bare feet slapping the floor as he ran to the infirmary. His gut twisted when he saw Carolyn and several nurses clustered around Vala's bed, shouting medical terms and stats at each other. He looked to her heart monitor and saw that her heart was still beating, but much faster than even his own. She flatlined, and his whole chest seized up. He couldn't breathe when he saw that she wasn't either. His whole world was falling down around him, he couldn't move, didn't want to.

Daniel shot awake, his heart pounding wildly in his chest as a cold sweat beaded on his skin. He tore the blankets off and sat very still, waiting to see if an alarm was going off. The room was silent, but he was still restless, so he padded down the hall to the infirmary, nodding at the nightguards that were on duty. He poked his head around the doorway and noticed that Carolyn was asleep at her desk, a pen still in hand. He smiled, reminded of Janet's hard working nature. Daniel walked silently over to Vala's bed, noting that her cheeks seemed less pale than before, then sank into the chair next to her bed. He hadn't realized it until now, but Vala had become very important to him, possibly more than the boundaries of simple friendship allowed.

"Daniel…? S'that you?" Vala murmured sleepily as she came around. Her whole side ached, and the last thing she really remembered clearly was Daniel starting to grin at her. Then a loud noise came, and then blackness.

"Vala, it's me. How are you?" He gave himself a mental head slap. _Stupid question…_

"I hurt. What happened? You were smiling at me, then there was a bang, then nothing until now." She still had her eyes closed, but her brow was knit in half concentration, half pain.

"Hang on, Vala. I'll go get Dr. Lam." He'd forgotten by now that he was wearing only a pair of long pajama pants as he went to wake Carolyn up. Daniel reached down and gently shook her shoulder. "Carolyn. Dr. Lam, Vala's awake, and she says she hurts."

Carolyn woke slowly, disturbed from her dreams by someone saying her name. She opened her eyes to see a very well sculpted bare chest right in front of her, and thought she was still dreaming for a moment. Then she had enough presence of mind to look up at the owner of this torso and found that it was Daniel.

"Oh, Dr. Jackson…Sorry, what were you saying? Vala's awake?" She rubbed some of the sleep out of her eyes tiredly. He nodded in affirmation and she pushed herself up out of her chair and managed to do a decent job of looking awake as she checked Vala's stats and gave her some more pain medication.

"There, that should start working in a few minutes. You took a pretty nasty hit to your side, but it didn't damage any major organs, and the few internal wounds were very minor and easy to patch up."

Vala opened her mouth to say something, but Dr. Lam put her finger up to silence her. "However, the blast itself took out a good chunk of flesh, so it'll be a while before you can return to active duty."

Vala's eyes narrowed. She didn't like that Carolyn had simply said a 'while', because that meant it would be much longer than Vala would like before she could get back to work. "When you say 'a while' how long _exactly_ do you mean?"

Dr. Lam hesitated, then sighed and said, "Two months at least, Vala, along with light physio towards the end." She took a deep breath and waited for the expected outburst. It came.

"Two months?! I just got shot, for, to borrow one of your quaint Tau'ri expressions, cryin' out loud! I don't need two months to recuperate, I've seen you let Daniel get back to work just two _weeks_ after being shot!" At this point, she was half sitting up in bed and looked furious, her fists clenched tightly.

"Va—" Carolyn started, but was cut off by Daniel, who cleared his throat.

"Ah, may I suggest something?" He waited patiently for Vala and Carolyn to regain their composure. "Once Vala has regained enough strength, wouldn't she just be able to use the healing device on herself? I know it can be dangerous, but, aren't you fairly skilled in its use?" Daniel directed the last question towards Vala, who nodded in assent. They both turned to Dr. Lam, waiting expectantly for the ruling on this proposal.

"Well…" She dragged it out to give herself time to think a bit more. "I suppose you could." She turned her best stern look on Vala. "But I want you to rest for at least a week before I let you anywhere near that device, got it?"

Vala nodded quickly in agreement. Anything to not spend two months laid up.

Dr. Lam turned back to Daniel, with her stern expression glued firmly in place. "And you, Dr. Jackson, should go back to bed and stop disturbing my patient's rest."

"But-" Daniel started to protest, not wanting to leave her side.

"Now." Said Carolyn firmly, pointing to the door.

"Fine." He muttered something in another language as he shuffled out the door and back to his on base quarters. Daniel climbed into bed, but couldn't get to sleep. He had no idea what was keeping him up. It couldn't be worry over Vala now, because he'd seen (or more accurately, heard) she was well enough to yell, and that meant she'd pull through. He mulled over the possible causes for his sudden insomnia for some time, when it hit him. He missed Vala in his bed. But no, that wasn't right! She'd spent one night in his bed, when he'd been too tired to kick her out, and that was that.

_We're just friends! _ He thought, disregarding his almost confession earlier.

Vala tried to fall back to sleep, but couldn't. She'd be the first to admit that she'd been trying to seduce him from the moment they met, practically, and Vala would also be the first to admit that he'd always rebuffed her, until the night before. They'd crossed a line, somehow, by sharing--however innocently—his bed. Alright, so not so innocently on her part, but nothing serious had happened! Yet now, she had no idea what to say to him, or how to deal with him. For one of the first times, she was off-balance over someone, and she wanted to take it further _and_ just stay friends at the same time. She was perfectly aware of the fact that she couldn't have both.

A/N: dun-dun-dun-DUN…! What happens next? I don't know. Maybe something involving a movie. I've also been toying with the idea of a mini songfic, so it'll just be whatever comes first here… Also, sorry for the wait on this one. My muse went sorta AWOL on me, and there wasn't much I could do about it. So here's chapter six, I'm pretty sure it sucks in some ways, so please R&R!

--Fee

Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate. There, happy now? You've just ruined my chance at selling black market zats and staffs, and…Oops… :D


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter seven:**

Daniel managed to get all the work done the next day that he'd planned to, and after that the next two days went pretty smoothly. Landry had assigned Daniel a diplomatic mission; he'd be brokering a treaty between Earth and another planet. The amount of work he'd be putting into this however, meant that he'd be staying off-world for a few days. When he told Vala this, she tried to keep up a bright smile and act like it was nothing, but he could tell that she'd miss his visits. He called in a few favors here and there, and arranged to have a new bouquet of flowers sent to Vala every day he was gone. Daniel was smiling when he stepped through the 'Gate, and his smile wasn't for the politicians waiting on the other side.

Vala was bored, but that was really no surprise. Sam had been in earlier, and they'd talked and played a board game during lunch, but then Sam had to leave. Important work and such. Teal'c had also thought to stop by, and they'd had a refreshing chat about Earth policies and what the different places were like. Mitchell had also stopped by, but that had been to ask Dr. Lam if Vala was cleared to come to team night, and ask Vala herself if she wanted to come. Vala had eagerly taken him up on the offer, and he'd informed her that it was her turn to pick something to watch. Team night wasn't for a few days yet, they had to wait for Daniel to get back, but Vala still looked forward to it. Vala was just wondering what might happen if she flirted with the young male nurse on duty, when an SF walked through the door of the infirmary carrying a vase of bright, cheery flowers, including some of her favorites, like the bright orange tiger lilies.

"Oh, they're lovely!" Vala exclaimed, happy to finally have a small chance to be not-bored. "Who are they from?" She gently fingered a soft bud as the SF gently placed the flowers on Vala's bedside table. The SF just smiled and said, "I don't know who they're from, ma'am, but I suggest you check the note on the side." She clicked her heels smartly and strode out of the infirmary without another word.

Vala breathed in the light scent of the flowers, then gently removed the small card from it's holder-wand thingy. It read in a delicate gold script:

_Vala, _

_Thinking of you always. _

_--D_

D…It had to be D for Daniel! That would seem the obvious conclusion, but, how could he send her flowers when he was off-world? She made up her mind to ask Sam about it later.

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"I believe that if one of your people should-"

"If you'll look here at section B, clause 9, you'll find that it clearly states that should one of our people trespass against yours, they will be under our jurisdiction for the punishment." Daniel's head was throbbing painfully with a near migraine, and all he wanted to do was shout at these people to shut up already!

"Senator, I think we should call a close to the talks today. There are issues that need to be worked on, and I believe they would be better worked on by us when we are refreshed."

Senator Rathfell frowned but nodded in agreement. "Of course, Dr. Jackson. I will have one of my aides show you to your quarters." He beckoned a tall muscled man over to his side, and murmured something in his ear, motioning over to Daniel.

The aide looked more like a bodyguard than anything else, Daniel speculated as he followed the man down a maze of corridors. He was almost comparable to a thug like you'd see in a movie. He certainly wished that this headache would go away. Daniel jogged for a second to catch up with the aide, and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, but, do you have anything for headaches?"

Aide stopped abruptly, making Daniel almost lose his balance as he tried not to run into the man.

"Yes, we have something for headaches, Dr. Jackson." Aide's voice was much raspier than Daniel had anticipated, but the news was good.

"Wonderful—" He was silenced by a fist to his face. Daniel staggered backwards, instinctively raising his fists to protect himself, though his head was spinning.

"You're not unconscious?" The thug seemed surprised.

"No, I'm not, and _what the hell was that?_" Daniel asked angrily, feeling like punching the aide right now might be the best course of action.

"I didn't knock you out…? This wasn't how it's supposed to go! The sedative was supposed to make you woozy so you'd fall asleep, but that didn't happen. Then I punch you in the face and you still don't go under? What is _wrong_ with you?"

"There's nothing wrong with me, and what do you mean, the sedative? What's going on?" On the bright side, his headache had gone away…Only to be replaced with a throbbing pain from his nose, which he hoped wasn't broken.

"Yeah, the sedative," said the thug, warming to the subject of discussing his opponent's approaching demise. "See, there's someone here that doesn't like you very much, seeing as you keep making a fuss over every rule or clause. So my employer has paid me a lot of money to take care of you. Nothing personal against you, Doctor, but it's a lot of money. Also, with all your rules about women and rights and so forth, you grate against most guys' personalities." Aide grinned. "That explain it for you?"

Daniel smiled genially back at him. "Yeah, that about explains it. Nothing personal, right?"

"Right." Said Aide with a nod. "So, any particular way you wanna go?"

Daniel relaxed his posture and looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, let's see. The first time, I was shot with a staff weapon. Another big one was the time I died from radiation poisoning, and there was the time I was stabbed by a human form replicator, then blown into the vacuum of space…" he trailed off and noted the aide's dumbfounded look. He raised an eyebrow in a remarkable impression of Teal'c, and asked, "Need I go on?"

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After having the concept of pre-ordered and dated deliveries explained to her, Vala was feeling quite sure that she'd be getting another bouquet the next day, after discussing the chances of that happening with Sam. It was then that an SF appeared at the doorway to the infirmary again, this time holding a single, red rose with a delicate gold ribbon tied to the stem and it had another card attached.

"Miss Mal Doran?" the SF held the rose out to her. "This was marked to be delivered to you at this time." After Vala gently grasped the stem, the SF disappeared to who knew where.

"It's…" for once, words failed Vala Mal Doran. She gingerly brought the bloom to her face and inhaled it's sweet fragrance, thinking of Daniel. If she hadn't known what to do with Daniel before, now she was clueless. He'd rebuffed all her advances, however tempting, but now he was sending her a rose? She remembered asking Daniel the significance of picking the right flowers for someone you like, and had gotten a two hour long lecture on how all the different cultures on Earth used flowers to communicate in some way or another. She didn't remember most of it, but the part she had tucked away as useful information had been that a red rose, or a dozen red roses or something, meant essentially, 'I love you'. Did that mean Daniel loved her? Did she love him back? Why was he so on-off about her all the time?

Wanting to distract herself from these questions she didn't want to answer now, she looked at the card attached to the rose. It was in the same gold script as the card from that morning's bouquet.

_Vala, _

_I can't be there right now,_

_But I'm wishing you were here._

_Love, D_

Well, that was helpful. Not. It only served to raise more questions in her mind. She sighed and tucked the rose into the vase that still contained the morning flowers before she drifted off to sleep.

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Daniel struggled up to consciousness, trying to remember where he was. He felt battered and bruised, and it hurt to breathe, so he guessed that his ribs might be cracked. He gently applied pressure to his chest in several spots, but found that he was only a bit beat up and scraped. The next thing he realized was that he wasn't tied up, and a flood of memories came back. He'd been beat severely into unconsciousness, and apparently been thrown into a cell of sorts. He managed to pull himself to his feet, and stumbled to the door to check how sturdy the lock was, only to find that it was a simple padlock that he could pick, thanks to lessons from Vala. Daniel glanced at his watch, which was thankfully still intact, and noticed that it was about midnight on this planet and that suited him just fine. He was lucky enough to find a couple of slender nails--Nails? Why nails?—lying on the dirt floor and had the lock opened in no time.

His first priority was to get his weapons back while avoiding capture, then find a way out and get back to the 'Gate undetected. The thugs that had beaten him hadn't been thorough in their search, leaving behind anything they deemed wasn't a weapon. Stupid, but Daniel thanked his lucky stars for the oversight. It meant that if he made it back to the 'Gate, then he still had his GDO to get through the iris. He had another stroke of luck and found the armory not long after he set about finding his weapons. A thought occurred to him as he strapped his zat to his thigh. This was too easy! It was possible they were letting him escape, but why? What reason could they have for letting him go armed, and of his own free will? He shrugged the questions off for the moment, but his senses stayed on high alert. Daniel found the nearest exit and took it, making sure the way was clear as he stepped outside.

Daniel quickly noted that he was in an isolated part of the country; there were no sounds of traffic, pedestrian or otherwise. As he continued forwards, ever-wary for guards and alarms, he noticed a forest not half a click from his current position. A burst a recognition came forth, and he knew this was a forest about three miles outside the city's limits, and that if one cut through it going east, they'd reach the road in about an hours time. His spirits rose as he cleared the edge of the compound and took off at a light jog towards the forest.

He'd followed the compass on his watch going east, starting at a reasonable pace. That had been three hours ago. He was getting dehydrated, and it was just starting to get light out. It had occurred to him some time ago that east on this planet might be in a completely different direction than his compass indicated, but he decided to keep going in the direction he'd been going, convinced that he'd find something.

Daniel stumbled for the umpteenth time as he came to an opening in the forest, that led to a ravine's edge. He knew it was dangerous for him to get close to edges in this state, but he shuffled over anyways. There was a river gently snaking along the bottom, and Daniel leaned over the precipice, wishing that water was up here. Suddenly, the river wasn't at the bottom, it was slowly flowing in front of him! He grinned, wincing as his dried lips cracked, and took off some of his gear, then leapt off the bank to plunge into the river. He never hit the water. He opened his eyes a moment later to find himself still falling through the air, and cursed his sudden lack of lucidity. He was halfway down the eighty foot drop, and there was indeed a river below, he was headed straight for it. Daniel knew he might just pull through this if the river was deep enough, but he had the sinking feeling that it wasn't.

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A/N: Ha! (pardon the sinking pun, couldn't resist!) Anyhoo, this is one of my longer, ok, my _longest_ chapter to date. I'm also thinking that if Daniel stays off-world for much longer, I'm going to run out of little note sayings, so throw your ideas at me! My little plot bunnies are happing in excitement over this chapter, since it ended with a sort of cliffhanger…I haven't had much practice with those. I'm just going into full writing mode here, using most spare minutes to work on this. BUT! A girl needs a break every now and then, say, two hours of SG-1 and SGA goodness back to back? Absolutely! Please R&R!! You all know they make me write more! (They also work well as pick-me-ups!)

--Fee

Disclaimer: Huh…I like, totally OWN Stargate, man…You know? They just never ever mention me in the credits or anything like that… But I definitely own a share, man… ;-p J/K!


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter eight:**

As Daniel plummeted towards the river, he pulled himself into an arrow-like position, knowing that this would give him the least friction going in, and hopefully the fewest broken bones. Closer, closer, closer…he timed it and took a deep breath before hitting the water, and his world went black.

"Daniel!"

Vala cried out in panic, something was wrong!

"Daniel!" She gasped raggedly, striving for air suddenly as tight fear squeezed her chest. Tears stung her eyes, as she whispered his name in desperation, wanting him to be close, to hold her tight and reassure her that he was ok. Vala clenched her bed sheets in frustration, knowing something was wrong. It was a gut feeling, perhaps reinforced by the effects of the bracelets, though they were long gone. She glanced around cautiously, looking for the night nurse, but saw and heard no one. Gingerly, she slipped out of her bed and managed to maneuver herself into wheelchair, quickly rolling out of the infirmary as she headed for Teal'cs quarters. Teal'c was the only member of SG-1 besides herself that didn't have a home elsewhere on earth to stay in, so she knew she could count on him being there. She knocked on his door, her cheeks still damp with tears, and waited for him to open his door. There was a moment's wait, then the door swung open, and Teal'cs eyebrow rose, as it was prone to doing.

"Vala Mal Doran, are you alright?" He peered around her for a second, evidently looking for a nurse or someone that might've accompanied her.

"It's just me, muscles, I snuck down. Could I come in?"

"Certainly." Teal'c inclined his head and stood to the side so that she could roll past him.

Vala turned around to face him. "Teal'c, I think Daniel is in danger of some kind. I've just got this really bad feeling and it won't go away! I woke up out of a dead sleep feeling like this."

Teal'c pondered her statement for a few moments, then spoke. "It would not surprise me if Daniel Jackson was in danger, as this occurs quite often. Are you certain of your feelings on this matter?"

Vala bobbed her head energetically. "Absolutely, Muscles. I-I didn't know who else to talk to, I knew you would believe me, but I don't know about anyone else."

Teal'c thought again for a moment, deciding on a course of action. "I believe the wisest course of action would be to contact the world upon which Daniel Jackson was staying and ask to speak with him."

"Excellent idea, Muscles! Let's go!" She impatiently spun her chair about and wheeled over to the door. _This wheelchair is getting bloody annoying,_ She thought as she bumped into the corner of Teal'cs bed. Vala was trying her hardest not to show the fear that coiled within her at the though of Daniel hurt, but she knew her true emotions still bled through when she was distracted enough to drop her façade.

Teal'c obligingly opened the door for Vala and followed her out and to the control room.

When they reached the gate control room, they found that along with Walter and Silar, Mitchell was there, though Vala wasn't clear on why, exactly. He looked up as they entered, then frowned.

"Vala, shouldn't you be back in the infirmary sleeping?"

He'd put a bit of extra emphasis on sleeping, clearly disapproving of her nighttime movements. "Cameron, I've got the most horrible feeling that Daniel's in danger right now, and Teal'c suggested that we dial the planet up and ask to speak with him." She widened he eyes pleadingly and threw an expression of raw vulnerability on her face that was uncomfortably real. She knew already that it didn't really work on Cam.

Cam narrowed his eyes at her slightly, not threatening, just gauging. He then looked to Teal'c for verification that this was more than the bad dream it sounded like. Teal'cs only response was the usual head tilt. Cam looked back to Vala to double check. "Vala, you're absolutely _sure_ that Jackson's in trouble right now?"

Instead of bursting into a dramatic affirmation of her claims, she simply nodded and whispered "Yes," Her expression tight now, with a strong undercurrent of worry. That was really what convinced him.

"Sergeant!" Cam barked, getting the officer's attention quickly.

"Yes sir?" Walter looked up expectantly.

"Dial…The planet that Doctor Jackson is on."

"Yes sir." Walter commenced dialing, narrating with things like, "Chevron two, encoded," to no one in particular, since half the base was away. "Chevron seven, locked."

The vortex of unstable atoms whooshed out from the 'Gate just like always. "Sergeant, get me on the radio."

"Already done, sir."

Cam had to wonder if the Sergeant really was psychic, as General Landry jokingly suspected. "Ter'nelian base, this is Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell of the Tau'ri. Is Dr. Jackson available?"

A crackly voice came back in reply, "No Colonel. Doctor Jackson is taking a break from negotiations today and has left on a short hiking trip."

That made Cam suspicious. He'd known Jackson for a little over two years, and was pretty sure that he wouldn't do anything like that, but he found himself looking to Vala and Teal'c for conformation of his suspicions.

"That doesn't sound like my Daniel," Vala said worriedly. "I know him well enough to know that he actually _likes_ doing things like that. And if he did take a break, I don't think he'd go hiking. More like he'd go looking at museums or local dig sites."

When Cameron looked up to Teal'c, the jaffa simply nodded in acquiescence of Vala's remarks, and Cam was agreeing with Vala too. "Ter'nelian base, we request that Doctor Jackson be brought back. There's a situation here that needs his expertise." Vala could probably be classified as a situation that needed Jackson's 'expertise.'

"Wait a moment, Colonel." Came the voice from the other end. It returned in a moment. "It appears that Doctor Jackson went hiking alone in a forest past the outskirts of the city. I was unable to contact him."

Was it just him, or did the voice sound nervous? "If he's not responding, it's probably because he's unable to. I'll contact you in a half hour. Mitchell out."

'Silar, I want SG's three and seven ready to go inside a half hour. I'm going too. Teal'c, you comin?"

Teal'c inclined his head ever so slightly. "Indeed."

Daniel sputtered awake, feeling nauseous and dizzy, and disoriented. He hurt badly all over, but it reassured him that he was alive, at least. Digging his good fingers into the rocky silt, he managed to drag himself further up the bank of the river, but his efforts exhausted him and his world spun blearily as his vision fell to blackness once more.

Between the forest and a somewhat decrepit looking abandoned facility, Reynolds of SG-3 was trying to placate several of the foreign dignitaries at once, attempting to reassure them that they were merely searching for their missing comrade. They needed to start searching his last assumed location, as they had already thoroughly searched the entire complex of buildings for Jackson. It wasn't as simple as locating him by his subcutaneous transmitter and beaming him to safety aboard the _Odyssey_, since the ship was at least four days travel from the planet if it left now. They had Doctor Lam on standby back on Earth, just to be prepared. Finally, the dignitaries seemed to agree with Reynold's requests, and after a few quick instructions and precautions, they set off into the forest.

After three hours of steadily combing the forest, Lt. Wilkins of SG-7 happened upon a clearing that ended with a cliff edge. This wouldn't be important, under more normal circumstances, but there was also the fact that Dr. Jackson's vest, jacket, zat, and glasses were resting in a pile near the jagged edge. He radioed Col. Mitchell promptly.

"Col. Mitchell, I've found something you might want to see."

"What did you find, Wilkins?"

"I found Dr. Jackson's vest, jacket, zat, and glasses all in a pile here, sir. They're resting on the edge of a cliff."

There was a pause, then, "Where are you? Or rather, where are the items?"

The young Lieutenant glanced at his compass. "About two clicks due east of your position, sir."

"Alright, hang tight, Wilkins. Mitchell out."

When Mitchell finally arrived, he found Lt. Wilkins sitting next to a pile of SGC garments along with a zat gun and a pair of glasses that were definitely Jackson's.

"Shit," he muttered under his breath. What had Jackson done _now_? He looked to the Lieutenant to find him scanning the ravine with his binoculars.

"See anything, Wilkins?"

"Nothing yet,--Wait! There's something…" He reached up and adjusted the focus on his binoculars, zooming in some. "Sir, there's a man down there. It's probably Dr. Jackson."

Mithchell radioed the rest of his men with the news. "Alright people, we have a person at the bottom of this ravine here. We need to find the nearest entrance ASAP, since I'm almost one hundred percent certain the person is Dr. Jackson. Let's move it, people!"

Shortly after Mitchell headed out to join the search, a Sergeant called in that she'd found the entrance. Cam jogged the remaining distance there, and they headed in to find Jackson. They walked along the banks for close to ten minutes when cam spotted a bedraggled form lying on the ground, wearing a black shirt and olive drab SGC pants. He'd managed to stay calm so far, but this was testing his limits. He had no idea how General O'Neill had coped with Daniel. He knelt next to the prone man, and radioed the others that he'd found Jackson. Cam hissed and swore when he saw Daniel's condition. Broken right arm, broken leg, possibly legs, one of his hands looked about mangled, and he was severely bruised and had cuts all over.

"Reynolds?" He radioed the leader of SG-3, who was back at the 'Gate.

"Sir?"

"I need you to dial Earth and get Caro--Dr. Lam and her team here ASAP with stretchers and stuff. We've found Jackson, and he's in worse shape than Vala. A lot worse."

"Yes Sir."

Cam risked rolling Jackson over-carefully- and took a better look at him. The pain of being jostled must have woken him, as his eyes flickered open slowly. They were a dark blue-grey, and hazy with pain.

"Jackson?"

"Wha…" He labored to breath for a moment, his chest muscles were bruised and battered…from what? Through his blurry vision, he could make out a figure kneeling next to him. He didn't know who it was, even as the person spoke again.

"Jackson, can you hear me? You need to hang on till the doc gets here, okay? Just hang on."

"Who…Are…You…?" He managed to get out between breaths. Come to think of it, it might be a good idea to ask this person who _he_ was. The man seemed to know his name.

Jackson must be disoriented, Cam reasoned. Otherwise, he wouldn't have asked who Cam was in Mandarin.

"It's me, Cam Mitchell. You're probably disoriented, if you did what I think you did. Actually, you're damn lucky to be alive, even after everything else you've done."

"Who…Am…I?" It was getting slightly easier to breathe now. Shock was setting in, and making him numb. The man stared at him for a moment, in apparent disbelief.

"You're saying you don't remember me, or who you are?"

"I…don't remember…anything…"

Cam dropped his face into his hands. Great. Jackson had amnesia. _Could the day get any better than this? No, wait, don't answer that…_ He thought belatedly. Dr. Lam should be through that Gate by now…

"Dr. Lam?"

"Yes Colonel?"

"Jackson seems to have a case of amnesia." There was silence for a moment, and he wondered vaguely whether the Doctor was thinking or swearing? Probably thinking, since she was a doctor, and that was what she did best, right after treating her patients.

"Can you be more specific as to the extent of his injuries, besides 'worse than Vala'?" Carolyn wanted to be prepared and have the appropriate equipment ready when they arrived.

"Well, I'm no expert, but I'd say he has a broken arm, both legs are broken, one of his hands is all messed up, he probably has a severe concussion, lots of bruising, and possibly some cracked ribs, going by the way he's breathing. That do it for you?"

"…Worse than Vala, was an understatement."

------------------------------

Vala woke the next morning and stretched lazily in bed. Carefully, though, since she didn't want to disturb her wound. She glanced around the room and found that she'd received another bouquet while she slept. It was a cheerful array of yellow flowers that were rather cone-shaped, and very pretty. Vala quickly located the note attached to the clear fork thing, and read it.

_Vala,_

_May you continue _

_To smile always._

_--D_

Vala grinned as she read it. Maybe Daniel really did like her, despite the protesting. She glanced up as a weary Dr. Lam trudged in.

"Hey Carolyn, looks like you pulled an all-nighter. What happened?"

The doctor heaved a sigh and made her way to the chair beside Vala's bed. She sank into it gratefully and rested her head in her hands.

Vala pulled a wry smile and patted her friend's shoulder. "That bad, eh?" her smile disappeared at the doctor's words.

"It was Daniel."

Those three words crushed Vala in an instant. "Daniel?" Came her whisper. "Is he…Is he…" She couldn't bring herself to form the question out loud.

"He's still alive, but it's a wonder he survived. What we suspect happened matches his injuries." She lifted her head to look Vala in the eye. "He jumped off a cliff, Vala."

Vala couldn't stop the sharp intake of breath at this statement. "He what?"

"He jumped off a cliff. He suffered a severe concussion, a broken right arm, crushed left hand, broke both femurs, cracked three ribs, fractured his left ankle, and is suffering from amnesia." Carolyn concluded the list with the least serious of his injuries. Of course, if he never regained his memories, it would be serious, but she was still in the dark on that one. They could learn more when he woke up.

Vala was still silent as she tried to absorb this. She'd felt like Daniel was in danger last night, but this? She hadn't expected this. Fear that he might not make it filled her, and her eyes watered.

"Can I see him?" She asked tearfully. She had to know that he was at least breathing. If he was, there was still hope. She had only that to cling on to, and she wondered why Daniel had sent her the note that morning. _Am I supposed to smile through this?_

Carolyn felt apprehensive, but changed her mind when she saw tears slowly sliding down Vala's face. This had really hit her hard.

"I'll wheel you down there. He's in an Isolation room."

Vala nodded in response, not trusting her voice or her will to keep from sobbing outright. The trip seemed to take too long, but when they reached the room Carolyn wheeled her in right next to Daniel's bed as promised. Vala reached over from her bed and clasped his un-bandaged hand in hers and squeezed it gingerly as Carolyn left the room to give her a moment alone with him.

"Just hold on darling…I love you." She fell asleep, and didn't notice when his hand tightened around hers as they both slept.

A/N: Aren't I evil?? I love Danny-whumping… Sorry if things are moving fast, but this is the last chapter before I go to camp. (note: listening to POTC3 soundtrack while writing leads to a LOT of angsty stuff…trust me) Anyways, I leave for camp the 24th of June, and I'll get back the 8th of July, so I'll maybe have a chapter up a week after that? Guess we'll see. My summers tend to get really busy, and I probably get more writing done during the school year than the summer. Anyways, hope you enjoyed, _**R&R!!!!!**_, and if you haven't already, check out Not Sokar Again! A little fluffy ficlet thing I wrote up recently… TTFN!

--Fee


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter nine:**

**A/N:** First off I would like to say thank you for all the lovely reviews! The opinions are tied between a combo and the second draft (was the first really that bad?!), but after looking through the first and second and trying to figure out how to combine just a few elements from the first with the second I decided that I'd just go with the second. (Did any of that make sense just now?) I've added a small new section, and finished the chappie a little more smoothly (I grimace at the end of draft two…much too sudden!) Thanks for reading, and please review to tell me what you think! --Fee

The man woke to find that most of his body ached and throbbed, including his head. He couldn't move his left hand, either of his legs, and various other parts. He started to panic when he suddenly became aware of a smaller hand enclosed in his. He opened his eyes and tried to get them to focus, but was unsuccessful and concluded that he must have some sort of vision problem. He could make out shapes and colors, they just weren't clearly defined, so he figured as far as vision problems went, he wasn't too badly off. However, his vision problem paled in comparison to the rest of him. He was now conscious enough to realize that there were hard tubes molded to the parts of his body that hurt, and he guessed that instead of causing the pain, they were simply holding the limbs in the correct position so they could heal. He remembered that there was still a hand in his, and looked in it's owners direction, futilely trying to make out the person's features. He could make out a head-blob, what seemed to be a hair-blob, and a large, less defined blob that he assumed was the body.

He cleared his throat to make sure that it still worked. It did, and he opened his mouth to say something then hesitated, unsure of what to say. What was he supposed to say, Hello? He had no idea if he knew this person or not, or what their reaction would be. Oh well, go for it.

"Ahem, um, hello?" He voiced cautiously, not knowing how heavy a sleeper she was. She stirred but was clearly still asleep as she snuggled deeper into the bed.

"Miss? Could you…Could you wake up?" He was a bit louder this time, hoping he wouldn't have to shout since his ribs ached whenever he took a deep breath. She smacked her lips softly and started to roll over when she let out a sharp gasp of pain and half sat up in bed.

Vala was comfortable. She had a soft bed, and was holding Daniel's hand, what more could a girl ask for? She wasn't really awake as she attempted to turn over in bed, and thus pulled on her wound, which hurt a _lot_. She pushed herself up off the bed slightly, supporting the weight with her arms. It was then that she noticed her hand was no longer in Daniel's. Directly after that she noticed he was awake and watching her with an expression of mixed concern and a sort of 'I really don't know you but are you ok?' look that only he could pull off. She pulled a smile and eased back onto her pillows.

"Oh good, you're awake. The nurse should be in here in a moment." She kept her smile in place, but it hurt her to see Daniel like this, with no apparent memory and injuries aplenty.

The man mistook the pain in her eyes for physical pain, and touched her arm gently with his good hand. "Are you alright?"

Vala's smile became more genuine at his concern, to him they were complete strangers but he was still worried for her well-being, which showed that at his core he was still the same Daniel she knew.

"I'm alright, really. This isn't as bad as some injuries I've endured, and I'll be patched up in no time."

"If you say so." Doubt still lingered but he gave in, and he was really in no position to argue, seeing as she was hardly injured at all compared to him. He also had no more time to argue, as several women, nurses he supposed, bustled in and started checking things around the beds. So far as he could tell, the people meant him no harm and were doing their best to take care of him, but who knew how he got hurt or who he was?

He drifted off to sleep, and woke some time later to find himself in the same room, but to his disappointment the black-haired woman was gone. Some of the pain had let up, which allowed him to think more clearly, and he studied his surroundings more closely, though he could pick out no more detail than before. The door opened and a single woman entered the room, holding a clipboard and pen. She smiled warmly at him and stood near his bed at an angle that would not strain his neck.

"Hello, I'm your doctor, Carolyn Lam." She paused, waiting for a response.

"Err, I guess this is where I introduce myself, but that would seem to be a bit of a problem. I don't know who I am, and I can't say that I recognize you, although it might help if you weren't all blurry." He gave a small smile at his humor.

"Oh, of course…" Dr. Lam fished around in her pocket and pulled out a strange looking object which his mind quickly identified as glasses and pulled up a memory of putting them in front of his eyes. Carolyn gently slid the glasses into place, and almost immediately his world grew clearer.

"Well, that's better. I still don't recognize you, but…That other woman that was in here earlier…She seemed familiar."

Carolyn felt hopeful, if Daniel thought Vala seemed familiar, how would he react to General O'Neill? "She's a good friend of yours. Does any name come up when you think of her?" As she asked him the question, she bent forwards and flashed her penlight in his eyes, then started going over the various monitors attached to him and looking through the readouts.

Daniel's brow furrowed as he searched his relatively blank mind for any other scraps of information to cling to concerning the raven haired woman who had been in the room earlier. A quick memory flashed through his mind, so quick he almost missed it, but he managed to pull it up again and there it was!

She was sitting in front of a computer, with a large black glove on one hand, the other bare. She held a mic close to her face and said "…this is Vala, can you hear me?..." Then the memory disappeared once more.

An excited grin lit his face as he looked over at Dr. Lam. "Her name is Vala, is that right?"

Carolyn couldn't help but smile at the recovery of a name with no outside help. "Yes, her name is indeed Vala. You know, -Daniel? Daniel!"

His grin had quickly died and his eyes rolled back in his head as he lapsed into sleep. A quick check showed that he wasn't in any danger, but was in a deep REM sleep.

Vague thoughts suddenly rushed through his mind, a blur of images and sounds going too quickly for him to comprehend. His vision went black as he sank into a world of memories.

**A/N:** Ta da! Done, finally. On the subject of flashbacks, I got predominantly positive feedback about that idea, so I'm drawing on the suggestions you've all given to help me with chapter ten. Once more, THANK YOU ALL for your help on chapter nine, and please review, even if just to say you liked or didn't like the chapter!

--Fee


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter ten:**

Daniel was swept along a current of swirling colors and sounds, much flooding past him on his way to wherever it was he was going. He suddenly felt as though he were falling, a peculiar weightless sensation had taken hold, but he had know way of knowing what direction he was moving in, or if he were even moving at all. He finally gave up on trying to figure out where he was headed, and instead focused on the rush of memories and thoughts surrounding him. Just as quickly as it had started, it stopped, and he was transported from the depths of his own mind to what he supposed was a memory. It was quite odd. He was watching himself get beaten up by who he suspected was Vala, after seeing her in his earlier memory. He winced every time she landed a particularly nasty hit, and one eyebrow rose when he saw himself knocked to the floor. Vala settled herself over his hips and pulled his torso up towards her, then she kissed him. Daniel had to wonder at this. Was this normal behavior? She had seemed quite nice when he talked to her that morning. He just barely caught himself saying 'You're a fruitcake…!' before getting slammed in the face by Vala. He silently congratulated himself on coming round very quickly and picking up the nearby zat gun, but frowned in sudden disapproval when he saw himself shoot Vala.

The memory ended abruptly, and Daniel was left floating in a multi colored pool of something to ponder the information. The whole thing was odd, but…she'd kissed him… Dr. Lam had said she was a friend… What did it all mean? Had they been in a relationship? He thought back to his brief conversation with Vala that morning, trying to discern if she had said anything that might have meant something to him before he lost his memory. Anything hinting that they might've once had something.

Vala sat in the observation room, staring out the widepaned window at Daniel, lying prone in the room below. She knew she should feel reassured that she had talked to him, That Dr. Lam said that beyond the broken bones and amnesia he would be alright. By some miracle he had avoided any spinal injuries, and except for his lungs his organs were all just fine. But something was nagging at her, deep inside her chest and at the back of her mind it sat there, telling her something was off about this, but for the life of her she didn't know what.

Sam entered the observation room with two cups of coffee, knowing that they would probably need it. She just managed a wan smile when Vala turned to see who it was.

"Hey Vala. How're you holding up?" Sam took a seat beside Vala and handed the coffee over. It was taken with a grateful nod.

"Alright, I suppose. I mean, my date with Daniel was put on hold because I got shot by some stupid bug, and then Daniel gets into this whole mess…" She sighed and leaned back, wrapping her cold fingers around the cup more tightly to warm them.

"You know, Sam…" Vala started, then waited a moment for Sam to indicate she was paying attention.

"Yes Vala?" Sam turned to look at Vala, and noticed that her face was drawn and tired, there seemed to be almost no sparkle left in her eyes, and that scared Sam. She paid closer attention.

"I was just thinking…Well…There's been this thing, it's… hard to explain. Like when you wanted to remember something, but just can't quite? That's what it feels like. I feel as if I should be remembering something about when Daniel was offworld, something that went wrong, or…I don't know…" She trailed off, exasperated by her inability to help Daniel.

Sam was interested. "Vala, do you think this is some kind of leftover connection from the bracelets? I mean, I know it's a stretch seeing as so much time has passed, but it might be possible that the bracelets left some kind of biological connection between you and Daniel."

Vala nodded pensively. "It's possible. Maybe that would explain my knowing that Daniel was in trouble when he was offworld. But what about during the war with the Ori? Why didn't we feel that the other was in danger then?"

That made Sam take pause, but only for a moment. "Well, we were almost always in danger during the war, right? Maybe it just got lost in all the other experiences and emotions that must have been running high during that time."

"And now that the war is over, we can finally distinguish between the warnings and our emotions of the moment. I see how this could work. But would there be any way to detect its presence? I mean, besides putting us in separate rooms and having us confront different dangers to see if the other can pick up anything." Vala pursed her lips in slight frustration. Sam's idea had momentarily captured her attention, and she really needed something to keep her mind off Daniel.

Sam had been about to leap into another theory when she caught Vala's expression. She gently laid her hand on Vala's arm to catch her attention. "Vala, I know how you feel. I'm worried about him, too. I'm just trying to keep going, keep working. Daniel wouldn't want me to mope around just because he's injured. You know, if anyone can pull through this, it's Daniel. He's strong, Vala. He'll be okay."

Vala managed a small smile and nodded; She was getting too choked up to trust her voice. As they were mostly absorbed in the moment of female bonding over Daniel, they both jumped, startled when the door opened and none other than General Jack O'Neill walked in. Sam immediately jumped to her feet and gave a short salute, to which he responded casually. Vala couldn't help but notice an obvious blush creeping over Sam's cheeks, and the look that passed between them with a million silent messages. She stored this fact away for later blackmailing purposes, then stood and shook Jack's hand.

"Good to see you, Jack."

"You too, Vala. How's our spacemonkey faring?" He directed the question to both of them, not really sure who would answer. He knew Daniel was badly beat up, and suffering from amnesia once more, but the medical report he'd read hadn't quite prepared him to see Daniel, who was like a brother to him, almost completely covered in casts. He swore under his breath and turned back to Sam and Vala, anger burning dangerously in his eyes.

"What happened to him? Who's the SOB responsible for this?"

Sam tried her best to keep a straight face; she didn't want to break down crying right there, but it was hard. "Sir, the official report says that he jumped off a cliff, after having gone on a morning hike on Ter'nelia. He was our main negotiator for the treaty between our planets, and when he reported last, it wasn't going well. They were talking in circles."

Vala felt a tear of frustration slide down her cheek, but didn't bother to wipe it away. Dr. Lam had said that other than the odd falling unconscious bit, Daniel was okay. He seemed to be healing at a marvelously fast rate, and everything was setting just right. So why did she constantly feel as though he were dying?

Jack worked hard to keep his anger under control. These Ter'nelians sounded like a bunch of dirty rotten liars to him, and he didn't think Daniel would just jump off a cliff. Especially not with his self-confessed problem with heights. "Let's get Teal'c and Mitchell and sit with Daniel. You know the good Doctor says that even when someone is asleep they can probably still hear. Least we can do is give him our support."

"I'll go get them, Sir." Sam volunteered and walked away without another word; Vala suspected Sam was having a hard time sorting through her emotions at the moment. She glanced up at Jack craftily as they walked down towards Daniel's isolation room. "So…You and Sam?"

Jack returned her smile with a positively evil grin. "So…You and Daniel?"

Vala flushed bright pink, for once in her life, at a loss for what to say. "I well…I uh, It's…It's nothing, really…" She knew it was probably a futile effort to get the General off her case, but she'd never quite felt this off guard when confronted about her quasi-relationship with Daniel.

"Well, just in case it's not nothing, I personally think you're good for him." Jack looked ahead but he knew Vala would notice he was still smiling.

Vala's interest in the conversation peaked. "Really? You think I'm good for him? Mostly he does nothing but complain about me getting in the way, or annoying him, among other things."

"You said mostly."

"Well, yes, mostly. But-" Jack cut her off impatiently.

"What does he do when he's not complaining?"

Vala hesitated, knowing what Jack was getting at, but not sure she was ready to go there just yet. "I-He took me shopping a few days ago, he even walked around in Victoria's secret with me, and we were going to go to dinner the next evening, when the whole 'alien invasion' thing happened and I got shot."

"Well, there you go. And I know for a fact that Daniel's never really mad at you." Jack's amused smile had been replaced by a smug grin. He hadn't forgotten about Daniel's current predicament, but he'd been wanting to see Daniel and Vala get together. There was a definite spark between them that hadn't faded with time. Sometimes Daniel could just be so clueless.

"Really? How do you know that?" Vala was quite curious. Had Daniel secretly confided to Jack that he…no, she wasn't going to go there yet.

"I know that because Daniel regularly sends me e-mails about the goings on at the SGC, and you're the main subject of discussion most of the time. He's really quite fond of you, you know." They had finally reached the door to Daniel's isolation room. It really wasn't a long walk at all, but they'd been walking slowly because of Vala's injury and talking fast because they both knew they wouldn't feel comfortable chatting about Daniel and Vala while Daniel was present.

Daniel had been silently pondering his few recovered memories as he floated in the now almost sickening pools of colors which had seemed to be gradually slowing. He realized that he had no real perception of time, and so had no way of knowing how long he had been like this, for he knew this was not reality, just the creation of his own mind. He felt something chafing his left wrist and looked to find a watch on his wrist, looking strangely antiquated in its large and overly elaborate design. _Okay, _He thought cautiously, _I thought about how long I'd been here, and it gives me a watch…_ Inspecting the watch slowly, Daniel noticed that it didn't have a defined face for telling the current time. Rather, it was a curious combination of knobs and dials with various ranges of number represented seemingly randomly across the scope of its face. As he stared at it, daring it to reveal its secrets, the dials began to spin counter-clockwise rapidly, and his surroundings darkened, turning to swirling black sand that consumed him.

SG-1 plus Jack had gathered in Daniel's room, and the general atmosphere was that of people trying to act semi-normal and failing. Vala had placed her chair next to Daniel's bed so she could hold his uninjured hand. Sam and Jack's chairs were right next to each other, and no one missed that they held hands, each taking comfort in the presence of the other. Teal'c looked on impassively, but those who knew him best could tell he too was worried. Mitchell was left essentially on his own, and sat pondering the effect this one man had on so many people that they all gathered here while he recovered. Not that Mitchell himself was unaffected; he was rooting for Jackson too, he just hadn't really bonded with the guy as much as the others. However, he had seen the effect that Jackson could have on complete strangers. He'd noticed the strange kind of charisma that Jackson carried around with him, that compelled complete strangers to help him. He was interrupted by a movement from Jackson however, that got everyone on their feet and hovering around him worriedly.

Vala watched Daniel as he gave a slight moan and turned his head side to side, his casts restricting him from doing much else. He stilled after a moment though, and they all blew a sigh of mixed relief and worry, when his eyes snapped open. Vala got the best look at them, seeing as she was right next to him, and what she saw scared her. Only a thin ring of blue remained of his iris, his pupils were dilated almost to the extreme. In an instant they became the opposite, deep pools of blue with a tiny black center. Daniel went rigid, then fell limply back into the bed with a strangled cry.

"Daniel…" Vala whispered, tears quickly streaming down her cheeks, and she didn't even care. She glanced around at the various machines hooked up to him and was only somewhat relieved to find that his vitals were returning to normal and staying steady. Her eyes were transfixed upon the EEG monitor, wishing she didn't know what the barely squiggly line meant. "You can't leave me Daniel…not like this…_please._" Deep inside her chest she ached so badly she just wanted to curl up on a soft bed and make it go away. She realized that her heart already belonged to Daniel, whether he knew it or not.

When Daniel opened his eyes, he found himself inside a ship. The _Odyssey_, his mind identified the time of the memory and place. He walked down the corridor ahead, and found the surroundings and directional markings familiar. He soon heard indistinct shouting ahead, and quickened his pace to find a room that he identified as his own. He searched for a means to enter, but when he tried to place his hand upon the door it simply wafted through. Carefully slipping through fully, Daniel observed himself looking guilty, sitting near Vala on a bed.

"Hey," His other self whispered softly.

"Just give me a minute," came Vala's hurt voice, her face hidden behind a curtain of soft black hair.

"Look at me," he said softly, concern coloring his voice. As he brushed some of her hair back gently, she turned to look at him, letting him see the hurt he'd caused. Vala looked away, trying to gather her dignity once more, and Daniel gently cupped her chin in his hand, turning her face back towards him. He studied her face a moment, realizing that he'd really, truly hurt her this time. And he never wanted to do that again. He leaned forward hesitantly, and gently kissed her, giving her the chance to reject him like he'd done so many times. Vala responded, kissing back and hesitantly placing her hand on Daniel's shoulder. When they pulled apart slowly, Daniel pulled a small smile.

"You better not be messing with me." He said lightly, trying to tell her that he really, truly wanted this with her. Their eyes held a moment longer, then they met in a more passionate kiss, giving into the desire that had long been there.

The scene faded, and Daniel found himself sinking into an inky blackness, devoid of any light. He began to hear soft noises, like whispers in the distance. A woman's voice, clearly exasperated was saying something. He knew it wasn't Vala. It actually sounded more like Dr. Lam, though he couldn't be sure. He only caught snatches of words, much too garbled for him to understand, but the darkness was starting to dissipate and the voices were getting louder and clearer.

"I just can't…"

"Wait, look…"

"…he coming around…"

Suddenly finding it within his power to blink, Daniel did so. An excited chorus of greetings met him from the various people standing around him. He blinked again to clear his vision, when a pair of glasses were slid into place and he could clearly see everyone. He wasn't trying to remember their faces, but instead searched for Vala.

Vala had been very rudely pushed to the back of the gathering by some nurses when they had come in to figure out what was wrong with him. But just like that, his EEG had spiked once more and he was awake now too. She managed to catch him scanning faces, looking for something but not finding it, when she stood on her tiptoes to peer over Sam's shoulder. When she finally made it to the front she grinned at him and said, "Right here, darling."

Daniel's gaze lit upon Vala's face as she smiled at him and said, "Right here, darling." He grinned right back at her, and not being sure of their current relationship status kept his greeting to, "Good to see you, Vala."

And noticing that the other people besides the nurses were looking left out, he decided to try and remember their names too. Next to Vala was a tall blonde with big blue eyes whose name instantly jumped to mind.

"And you too, Sam." If it was possible, her smile got bigger.

He looked to the large black man who towered above the rest, and his name fell into place as well. "Teal'c, right?"

Teal'c nodded his head towards Daniel in affirmation. "Indeed I am, DanielJackson." Teal'c let his rare grin show, which only made Daniel feel more pleased with his success.

"Cam…Mitchell?" he queried, looking at a man roughly his age. Cam cracked a smile at the fact that he'd gotten both his first _and_ last name from Daniel.

He looked to the last man left to be named, and a rush of memories fled by in an instant, in which he realized this man had been like a brother and a father to him. He also remembered a particular incident in which he had been recovering his memory before, and called the man Jim for a while, instead of Jack. He looked the man straight in the eye, keeping his face calm.

"It's good to see you again, Jim."

**A/N:** I know this chapter is full of loose ends, as previous chapters have been, but I'll get the situation resolved over time, don't worry. I have a plot line to follow for a bit, and I have a fairly good idea where this is going, so barring any major writers block, I'll…Ok, I won't make any promises, because that's when I get writers block, but suffice it to say that you will get more chapters. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed, and PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!


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